Our Staff
Director
Miriam Gay-Antaki, Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies
My work focuses on human-environment relations in the era of anthropogenic global climate change. I draw from the frameworks of political ecology and feminist geography to trace climate change policy development as a series of networked connections ranging from formal political spaces, such as the UN Conference of the Parties, to scientific spaces such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to the towns and communities where climate policies are implemented. In the context of Mexico, and particularly in the state of Oaxaca, I use these frameworks to understand the ways in which societal structures shape the development and implementation of transnational climate change policies such as gendered climate interventions, and how people, mostly those who are excluded in the decision-making process, actively accept, reject or change climate policies to fit their needs. My work also investigates the participation, and sometimes the exclusion, of women scientists and stakeholders in international climate change research and policy arenas.
Photo taken in Polatsk Belarus, considered by some the Geographical Center of Europe.
Associate Director
Laurel Ladwig, Program Director of ABQ Backyard Refuge Program, Instructor of Geography and Environmental Studies
Laurel Ladwig (M.S. Geography 2020) is a part-time instructor who teaches GEOG 355 Nature & Society and SUST 1134 Intro to Sustainability Studies. She is also the Program Director of the ABQ Backyard Refuge Program for the Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, an initiative to expand wildlife habitat in the Albuquerque area by encouraging residents to share space with wildlife by adding native plants and caring for their yards with wildlife-friendly practices. With a deep commitment to community science, Laurel is always looking for ways to get new people involved in initiatives that highlight our relationship with the living world. She is a co-organizer of Albuquerque’s participation in the world-wide City Nature Challenge, and serves on the steering committees for the Bernalillo County Master Naturalist program and the EPA’s Middle Rio Grande Urban Waters Federal Partnership.
Photo taken north of Aldo Leopold’s “Mi Casita” cabin, minutes after seeing a Mountain Plover Anarhynchus montanus for the first time.
Graduate Assistant
Olivia Kelly, Geography and Environmental Studies Master's Student
Olivia is a second year Master's student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. She received her Bachelor's degrees in biology and anthropology from the University of Virginia. Her interests include hydrogeochemistry, critical physical geography, stream ecology, fire ecology, watershed management, water politics, water law, and environmental justice. Olivia is originally from southern Ohio, but has lived most of her life in Virginia. She spends her time outside of school with her daughter, Freya. They enjoy hiking, kayaking, riding bikes, walking their dog, and going on camping trips to see more of the southwest.
Undergraduate Honors Fellow
Hope Smith, Geography and Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student, Sustainability Studies Minor
Hope is in her third year undergrad at UNM majoring in Geography and Environmental Studies with an emphasis in GIS, and a minor in Sustainability Studies. Her interests include environmental justice, cartography, sustainability, and GIS. She is originally from northwest Missouri but moved to New Mexico to study at UNM in 2022. At UNM, she is involved with the student organization UNM LEAF, where she makes graphic designs and helps run their social media. She plans to graduate in December 2025.
Graduate Honors Fellows
Eva Gemrich, Geography and Environmental Studies Master's Student
Eva is a master's student in Geography. She is interested in the cultures, identities, and food systems in rural areas, and perceptions of rurality. Eva grew up in rural Wisconsin and got her B.A. in Mathematics from Grinnell College in Iowa. Since then, she has been a Food Artisan Immersion Program participant at Taliesin Wisconsin, worked in kitchens and on vegetable farms on the East Coast, and spent two years with FoodCorps Iowa doing garden and cooking education with elementary school students. In 2024, she moved to New Mexico to start graduate school. Her other interests include hiking and exploring new landscapes, soccer and ultimate frisbee, reading, and fiber arts (especially weaving) and textiles.
Juna Keehn, Geography and Environmental Studies Master's Student
Juna is a first-year master’s student in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of New Mexico. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2019 with a BA in History and Rhetoric. After leaving Ohio, she lived and worked in Philadelphia as a bike mechanic and more recently has spent two field seasons camping and collecting native seeds in Northern New Mexico. Her academic research interests lie in ecology and climate change resiliency. Juna loves taking the Rail Runner to see her sister and niece in Santa Fe every week, being a fan of the WNBA, and admiring people’s bikes.
Katie Slack, Geography and Environmental Studies Master's Student
William Tatman, Geography and Environmental Studies Master's Student
Meirah Williamson, Geography and Environmental Studies Doctoral Student
Meirah Williamson is a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at the University of New Mexico. Originally from Wisconsin, she received her BS Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Wisconsin in 2017 and her MS Geography from the University of Florida in 2021. After graduating with her MS, she worked at the Illinois State Water Survey for three years, where she collaborated with communities across rural Illinois to increase their resiliency to natural and human-made hazards. Her academic research interests lie at the intersection of natural hazards, disasters, vulnerability, and climate change. In her free time, Meirah enjoys backpacking, cycling, playing piano, going to art/farmer's markets, and watching (or avoiding) the Chicago White Sox.
Past Staff Members
Bianca Camacho
Gus Guikema
Joe Scala
William Tatman
Ramona Malczynski
Taressa Nield
Joshua Driscol
Elizabeth Chou
Cheryn Vigil
Charley Allen
Cassidy Tawse-Garcia
Alexandra Mirabal
Al-Ekram Elahee Hridoy
Desiree Loggins
The center is supported by staff and works in cooperation with GES, Sustainability Studies, other interdisciplinary centers at UNM, and the College of Arts & Science. Additionally, our community members are critical to the success of the center. We move our work forward together.
